{"id":81,"date":"2020-04-06T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/\/?p=81"},"modified":"2020-04-06T14:09:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T14:09:00","slug":"march-reads-8-mini-book-reviews-mindscape-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=81","title":{"rendered":"March Reads: 8 Mini Book Reviews! (Mindscape Reviews)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hi Guys! Hope you all are doing okay. Being at home has been good for me. So good that I got to read EIGHT BOOKS<\/span><\/b> <\/span>in the past month. I haven\u2019t been this proud of myself in the recent past. What\u2019s even better is that I LOVED THREE BOOKS, HATED TWO BOOKS & the rest THREE were AVERAGE<\/span><\/b>. I don\u2019t think I have read so many books in a month and loved at least three of those! Check out the mini reviews!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

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THE BEST!<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
~~ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
This is hands-down one of the best books I have read this year. I had bought it long back, but never took to reading it. But, when I finally started, 5 pages in, I knew it would be amazing. It was. This novel written by Anthony Doerr won the Pulitzer Award for Fiction in 2015. It is a beautiful story in the historical fiction genre, set in France during WWII. There are two story lines ‘ Marie-Laure & Werner Pfenning. Reading this novel gave me a lot of hope. It\u2019s the kind of book that you just need to read! I have rated it at 5\/5 on Goodreads. I checked the \u2018Pulitzer Prize winning Book\u2019 category by reading this book.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

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~~AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Unlike Khaled Hosseini\u2019s earlier 2 novels, this one is a little bit different. It does revolve around the people of Afghanistan, but instead of 2 main characters, <\/span>it is made up of little stories of a lot of people of Afghanistan that nicely tie up together. What is common in all three is that they will have you surging with all the emotions & leave you all cried out. The story writing, as always, is wonderful. The author knows how to play with words & readers\u2019 feelings. If you haven\u2019t read it already, you definitely should! I have obviously rated it at 5\/5 on Goodreads.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Check out the FULL REVIEW HERE<\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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~~SEA PRAYER~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
I read Khaled Hosseini\u2019s Sea Prayer immediately after I finished \u2018And the Mountains Echoed\u2019. I just did not want to live in a world where I had not read EVERYTHING written by KHALED HOSSEINI<\/span><\/b>. Sea Prayer is a piece of art with amalgamation of words with painting. It is an illustrated book which is written about the refugee crises. It\u2019s a letter from a father to his son. The wonderful illustration are by Dan Williams. I rated this book at 4\/5 on Goodreads. By reading this, I have checked the \u2018A Book based on a True Story\u2019 category.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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~~INTERPRETER OF MALADIES~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
This was my first book by Jhumpa Lahiri. It had been on my TBR for a LONG TIME<\/span><\/b>. I just started reading the e-book out of nowhere & I was hooked! It is a small book with a collection of 9 short stories revolving around Indian based abroad. All the stories are heart-warming & touch base with Indian culture. I absolutely loved some, but I wasn\u2019t a fan of 2-3 stories. Be that as it may, the writing is so beautiful. I have never quite read something so wondrous that could touch me even when I cannot relate to it. I rated it at 4\/5 on Goodreads. This book checked the category of \u2018A Book of Short Stories\u2019 from my Reading Challenge. I\u2019m keen on reading her book named \u2018Unaccustomed Earth soon enough!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

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THE AVERAGE!<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
~~THE BELL JAR~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
I had started this book & given up on it many many times. But, this time I finally completed it. I thought it was quite average & overhyped. Goodreads describes it as \u2018Sylvia Plath’s shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity.<\/span> <\/o:p>The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic<\/span>.\u201d As with most classics, I didn\u2019t think it to be as great as most people think. I rated it at 3\/5 on Goodreads. From my 2020 Reading Challenge, I checked the category of \u2018A book mentioned in a TV Series (Little Fires Everywhere)\u2019 by reading this one.<\/span><\/div>\n
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~~THE SILENT PATIENT~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller & actually a debut novel by <\/span><\/o:p>Alex Michaelides. It won the Goodreads Choice Awards Best Mystery & Thriller. It\u2019s the dark & twisted story of a woman named Alicia Berenson. It was a good debut novel. Even though there were some obvious misses, <\/span>I have rated it at 3.5\/5 on Goodreads. The thing I liked was how it is an UNPUTDOWNABLE<\/span><\/b> <\/span>book. By reading this novel I have now ticked the <\/span>\u2018A Debut Novel\u2019 category form my 2020 Reading Challenge<\/span>!<\/span><\/div>\n
Check out the FULL REVIEW HERE<\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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THE WORST!<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
~~HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTIES AND OTHER STORIES~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
I read this book on a colleague\u2019s recommendation. It is written by a Japanese author & is translated to English. After having read 3 of Murakami\u2019s books, I thought I will explore more Japanese authors, but it didn\u2019t go so well. I usually love WEIRD<\/span><\/b> <\/span>stories, like in Kafka on the Shore. But, this one was way too weird & not for me. It is comprised of three short stories, each one more bizarre than the last. I rated it at 1\/5 on Goodreads. I checked the \u2018Recommended by a Friend\u2019 category from my 2020 Reading Challenge by reading this book.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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~~THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
The thing that most bothered me most about this book was the writing style. What Goodreads mentions as \u2018lyrical prose\u2019 is nothing but \u2018lazy writing\u2019. It is a different style for me to read, yes. But, I am very open to new styles especially when it comes to books. This one just didn\u2019t do it for me. The story is butchered into a million parts. It is really difficult to understand the link of one thing to other. The Atlas of Reds and Blues is not written well enough, in all terms: novel style or prose style or metaphorical style or social matters style.<\/o:p> I cannot stress how difficult it was to read the book. It was pointless & fails to set a tone with the American or Indian or any reader. I rated it at 1\/5 on Goodreads. This book was in none of my Reading Challenge categories, so I put it under \u2018A book with Blue cover.\u2019<\/span><\/div>\n
Check out the FULL REVIEW HERE<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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I will write a book review for ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ soon enough. I am currently reading ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanaghara & also re-readin Harry Potter, because why not!<\/span><\/div>\n

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Until next time,<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Guys! Hope you all are doing okay. Being at home has been good for me. So good that I got to read EIGHT BOOKS in the past month. I haven\u2019t been this proud of myself in the recent past. What\u2019s even better is that I LOVED THREE BOOKS, HATED TWO BOOKS & the rest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1431,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1431","url_meta":{"origin":81,"position":0},"title":"Celebrating Mindscape in Words’ 7th Blogoversary!!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers!! Every time I write a post, I somehow always wonder how quickly the month has gone by, and today here we are where an entire year has gone by! Another successful year of Mindscape in Words! I am forever grateful to you readers who come back to read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life!"","block_context":{"text":"Life!","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2997,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2997","url_meta":{"origin":81,"position":1},"title":"Mindscape in Words Celebrates 9th Blogoversary!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy 9th Blogoversary to Mindscape in Words!! I cannot believe that it has been NINE YEARS! Nine glorious years of sharing my thoughts and words out into the world for anyone to read! My thoughts on books, my experiences on travels, my words in the form of short stories and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life!"","block_context":{"text":"Life!","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/PXL_20230708_092421521-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/PXL_20230708_092421521-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/PXL_20230708_092421521-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/PXL_20230708_092421521-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/PXL_20230708_092421521-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=116","url_meta":{"origin":81,"position":2},"title":"My Lovely Wife. (Mindscape Reviews!)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! I know you must wonder. 2 posts in 2 days! Since I am home since almost a week, I read books. I finished reading this book \u2018My Lovely Wife\u2019 by Samantha Downing in mere 2 days. As always, I saw this recommendation in many reading lists, which finally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9N_8DctQHVc\/WbUg2T5dRgI\/AAAAAAAAdv4\/OVo1W2_Bh0ABsKklu2ggHBTgdTIUoBRwACPcBGAYYCw\/s320\/mindscapereviews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=24","url_meta":{"origin":81,"position":3},"title":"Top Posts of 2020 – Year in Review (Part 4)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers! 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It started from amateur book reviews interspersed with short stories & occasional travel journals. And now after 8 years, I know what I do best: BOOKS! Be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life!"","block_context":{"text":"Life!","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PSX_20220612_221744-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1004%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PSX_20220612_221744-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1004%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PSX_20220612_221744-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1004%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PSX_20220612_221744-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1004%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=74","url_meta":{"origin":81,"position":5},"title":"Miguel Street. 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